Having not responded to the Met Opera's request to distance herself from Vladimir Putin, Anna Netrebko will no longer be appearing in planned performances this season or the next.

According to a statement from the New York venue: ‘Not complying with the Met’s condition that she repudiate her public support for Vladimir Putin while he wages war on Ukraine, soprano Anna Netrebko has withdrawn from her upcoming Met performances in Puccini's Turandot this April and May, as well as the run of Verdi's Don Carlo next season.’

Met General Manager Peter Gelb described it as ‘a great artistic loss for the Met and for opera. Anna is one of the greatest singers in Met history, but with Putin killing innocent victims in Ukraine, there was no way forward.’

Netrebko will be replaced in Turandot by Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska, whose previous Met roles have included the title role in Verdi’s Aida (with which she made her Met debut in 2012), Tosca, Santuzza in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, and Abigaille in Verdi’s Nabucco.

The move follows a statement by Gelb last week, in which he said: ‘While we believe strongly in the warm friendship and cultural exchange that has long existed between the artists and artistic institutions of Russia and the United States, we can no longer engage with artists or institutions that support Putin or are supported by him – not until the invasion and killing has been stopped, order has been restored, and restitutions have been made.’

On Saturday, Netrebko had posted a statement on Facebook expressing her opposition to the war - 'I am Russian and I love my country but I have many friends in Ukraine and the pain and suffering right now breaks my heart' - though adding that 'forcing artists, or any public figure, to voice their political opinions in public and to denounce their homeland is not right.'